Summer 2014: Expressing appreciation and looking ahead
Summer 2014: Expressing appreciation and looking ahead
Summer is a time of inevitable transition as students graduate, faculty focus even more of their time on research, and preparations are made for annual events, like the American Sociological Association conference.
As fall semester approaches, we’re looking forward to welcoming six new individuals from across the country who have been accepted for graduate work and will begin their studies at WSU.
We’ll also welcome three new faculty members to our department:
Katrina Leupp, whose doctoral dissertation, “Benefits of the Balancing Act: Motherhood Employment and Health,” is being completed at the University of Washington, will be joining the WSU Vancouver campus as an assistant professor. Her background in family demography, inequality, gender, and health will strengthen the department in those areas.
Emily Huddart Kennedy, who obtained her doctorate from the University of Alberta Department of Rural Economy in 2011, will be joining the WSU Pullman campus as an assistant professor. She brings to the department a strong background in environmental sociology, with an emphasis on sustainable consumption and food security.
Jennifer Givens, who is completing her PhD at the University of Utah, also will be moving to WSU Pullman as an assistant professor, to arrive in January 2015. Her research interests are focused on environmental sociology, especially the global implications of environmental change.
We also recognize with great appreciation—and some sadness—the contributions to WSU sociology of three faculty members who are leaving WSU this summer.
Scott Frickel and Elizabeth Fussell have served on our faculty for seven years. Scott has contributed significantly to our strengths in environmental sociology while Elizabeth’s contributions have focused on demographic and international issues. They are moving to Providence, Rhode Island, where they will assume faculty positions at Brown University.
In addition, Gregory Hooks, who has been part of the Sociology faculty for 21 years, has accepted a position as chair of the Department of Sociology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where he was a Fulbright Scholar in 2009-10. While at WSU, Greg served as department chair for eight years (1993-2001) and chair of the WSU Faculty Senate, 1995-96. He was especially influential in working intensively with many sociology graduate students.
As we move into the fall semester and bring closure on this fourth issue of Sociology E-News, we want to thank the many alumni, faculty, and students who have helped prepare each of these reports. We look forward to bringing you the next issue later this year.
—Don A. Dillman and Jordan Rinehart, co-editors
Jordan Rinehart is a second-year sociology graduate student at WSU. He joined the program after spending five years in nonprofit management, including working to increase civic participation in underserved communities across the United States. As a new co-editor, Rinehart hopes to highlight the growing importance of sociology graduates’ work in the labor force.
Rinehart’s research interests include labor markets, organizations, and quantitative methods.
Don Dillman has been a sociology faculty member at WSU since 1969. He describes his WSU journey as being just long enough to track many sociology graduates throughout their careers from graduation to retirement. As co-editor he hopes to find ways to link alums now scattered throughout the world with the excitement of current happenings in the Sociology Department.
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